HOOT: My Version
by Na'viWolf
Summary: First HOOT fanfic! YAY! Okay, this is my version of HOOT, with me in the place of Roy. Movieverse, I read the book awile ago, and saw the movie for the first time 2 days ago. OC/Mulletfingers, T for swearing.
1. Chapter 1: The Barefoot Runner

**Hey peoples! This is my third ever fanfiction! I've wanted to do one for a while, but somehow never got around to it. So, here it is! I read HOOT and SCAT a while back and LOVED them, being the total eco-freak I am. And last night I watched HOOT the movie and thought, "Hot damn! A nature loving boy that goes to extreme lengths to save wildlife, lives in the forest, loves to run, and goes barefoot all the time, not to mention being tanned and smoking hot! My ultimate fantasy on the silver screen! So, OBVIOUSLY I had to write myself into the story in the place of Roy and meet the boy of my dreams. So, enjoy! (Sorry Maya! (My little sister) I decided to leave you out to avoid any more complications!) **

**Now, on with the show!**

…

Chapter 1: The Barefoot Runner

I dropped the last box of my stuff down with a sigh. Here we are. I looked around my new room with muted interest. "Pretty cool," I muttered, "Though the paint color needs a change."

I've just moved to Coconut Cove, Florida, from my beautiful home in the Palo Alto hills, California. It was a sudden move, totally unexpected, at least on my part. My parents are both lawyers, and skilled ones at that. My mom does Elder Law, which is protecting old people from being exploited and stuff. My dad works in Family Law, which deals in divorces and stuff. He sees people at there worst there, so I guess mom's got the best job, as far as helping people goes. We moved to Florida because mom thinks she can help more people here. I suppose that's true, but I didn't appreciate being moved to the other side of the country to do it. It could have been worse, I suppose. I've only been a high schooler for a month. Haven't made any friends yet, so there wasn't that unpleasant aspect of moving.

I decided to stop mentally whining, and went down the stairs to check in.

I walked into the kitchen and found my parents talking about unpacking.

"-and the silverware will go there! Now, where is it?" Ah, that's Mama. Always working.

"Hey Mama, hi Daddy! I'm gonna unpack my room, okay?"

"Great idea Sasha. We'll go get some dinner in a minute, is there anything you want?" Dad answered.

"Mexican, please!"

"Alright. Please watch the dogs while we're gone."

I spent the rest of the day unpacking my stuff and organizing it. By the end of the day, it really did look like my room, complete with my bed and blankets, wildlife posters and photos, and my two black labradoodles on the bed.

…..

The next day I got ready for my first day at school. After showering, brushing my teeth, etc., I put on my deep purple wolf shirt, **(Which I actually have, BTW**.) my tan sandals that I wear at every opportunity, my patched jeans, and tied my hair back in a loose ponytail. That done, I grabbed my backpack, ate my breakfast, kissed my parents and the baby-dogs good bye, and got on the bus. The minute I got on, I heard several low gasps. I smirked to myself. I've forgotten to mention one thing; my appearance. I know I'm certainly a sight to behold. I'm very tall for a girl of fourteen at 5ft 10, have hair the color of burnt sugar, hovering between a deep tan/brown and blond, with a proud nose that would look great with a stud on the left side (my mom tells me this a lot), and powerful eyes that shift from grey to green to blue, depending on what I'm wearing and my mood. I'm strong and lean, with the body of an athlete (thank you, discus!), a slight tan, and long legs. I love to run, and hope to get my endurance up by the end of the year to the point where I can jog all day without getting tired. All in all, I'm a babe. I look every bit the athletic, tan, empty-headed California girl. But looks can be deceiving. I'm an eco-freak, book-worm, and scholar.

But where was I? Oh, yeah, on the bus. So I got on to shallow gasps from the kids. The catty, popular girls immediately started to criticize everything they could, from my build, (I'm far from anorexic) to my clothes, to my height. Personally, I love being tall. It gives one an advantage. I'm hoping to hit six feet before I stop growing. I sat down on an empty seat, cracked open my book, (the latest from Rick Riordan) and started to read. I had just begun my chapter, when I received a tap on the shoulder. I sighed. The peace had been fun while it lasted.

I spun around, nearly snogging (I love British books!) a heavy-weight guy wearing a jersey and baggy pants on the mouth in the process.

"Gah!" I yelped. "Don't do that to a person!" He smirked.

"Hey, baby." I nearly gagged. "Wanna go out Friday night?"

I could barely believe my ears. Really. This was REALLY happening today? I quickly muttered a curse and silently begged Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, moon, and maidens for help. (I'm super into the Greek gods, courtesy of Rick Riordan.)

I shot him my feral grin. "Right. I'm Sasha. And, you are?"

He looked a little appalled at my response, but quickly shook it off and put on a confidant smirk. Ugh. I hate this jerk already. "Dana. School football star. So, you wanna go out Friday night?"

I couldn't believe this guy! This was like something out of a clichéd kid's movie! (**tee-hee!**) I decided then and there to burst this guy's bubble quick. "Well, _Dana_, to answer your question, no. I don't want to go out Friday night. I don't do dating." And with that, I turned back around, put my iPod earphones in, and pretended to listen to music. As I recited various songs in my head, and pretended not to hear Dana proclaiming me a "bitch!" to his friends, a flash of movement drew my eye out to the window. I turned my head, and saw something I knew would stay with me for the rest of my life.

There, running alongside the bus, was a blond guy my age. He was tall, maybe an inch taller than me, which was unusual. He had beach blond hair, a surfer tan, and was wearing board shorts and a jersey. Flying around his neck was a string of beads that compelled me to finger a similar strand, but with a wolf pendent, around my neck. But the thing I noticed most was the fact that he was running barefoot, the way I always do. I go barefoot as often as possible. I hate shoes. They're so confining! As I watched him run like, well, nothing I'd ever seen before, I was consumed by two thoughts. The first was "WOAH." The second was "He's beautiful." This last thought being 'said' with a bit of wonder and disbelief, not to mention a little longing.

I was a little weirded out by the longing I felt for this otherworldly boy sprinting beside the bus. I usually acnoulage a guys attractiveness, then move on. Like I said to Dana, I don't do boys and dating.

But before I could ponder any further on this turn of events, he leapt through someone's front yard and was gone.

"Hmmm." I thought. "Wonder who he is?" And with that, I settled into my seat, and braced myself for a day I felt could only go downhill from here.

….

True to my prediction, the day was not very pleasant, with one exception. When I finally got to my first period, Biology, I met two new allies.

I walked in late. The teacher, a Mr. Ryan, looked mildly surprised.

"Yes?" He pressed. " Ah! You must be Alexandra from…" He looked me over, and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess."

I raised my own eyebrow in response and said, amused and impressed, "California." That elicited giggles from the class, until I sent them a glare that shut them up. "And it's Sasha."

He looked me over again with a pleased glance. I like him already! "Okay. Welcome to Biology, _Sasha, _I'm Mr. Ryan. Please have a seat over there."

I moved to the seat, which was next to some short, dorky-looking kid wearing goggles on his forehead. I sat down, and he looked me over with this weird expression on his face. I waited for him to say something as I got my science stuff out. After a second he snapped out of it.

"Hey." I muttered a "hi," in response, waiting for him to continue. "I saw what happened on the bus this morning." I glanced up at him, surprised. He had an amused look on his face. Wish I could say the same for MY attitude towards what had happened.. "Don't take it personally or anything." At this I snorted, curious as to how he could think I would NOT take it personally. He grinned a little at that, and then blurted "Dana flirts with all the hot girls." He seemed to realize what he had just said, because he then flushed a dark red and ducked down. I couldn't help it; it was just so funny I let out a chuckle. He gave me a shocked look, as though he had expected me to chew him out or something. What kind of girls go to this school? He grinned though, and for the rest of the class we got to know each other. He introduced himself as Garret.

As we walked to our next class, which, lucky for me, we had in common, he said "You know, if you lay low, he may forget you even exist."

I chuckled. "Lucky me." I didn't believe that, of course. I was to interesting to him. I knew how guys like him operate. Unfortunately, I would now be seen as a challenge to him. I couldn't have turned him down without that being the case.

I decided to change the subject. "Hey, are there any other schools around here?"

"Why?" He grinned. "You sick of this one already?"

"No, no. But ask me in a couple of weeks!" I joked. Garret laughed, and I continued. "But seriously, no, it's just, I saw this weird guy on the way to school today, and I don't see him anywhere around here, so I figured he must not go to Trace." He was looking at me weirdly, so I rushed on. "He was running like crazy, barefoot. It was awesome." I was more than a little surprised to find a hint of a admeration at that last bit, so I coughed, hoping Garret hadn't noticed, and again plowed on. "He was fast. Faster than anyone I've ever seen, other than me."

Garret was smiling when he decided to impart a bit of wisdom on me. "Look, you've already got a psycho jock on your case, determined to get a date from you. I'd slow up on the weirdo collecting."

I laughed and countered, "Well, I've already made friends with you…." He laughed and punched my shoulder.

We went along like that all day, laughing and joking, but all the while I couldn't help but think of the barefoot runner, and who he was.

….

**Well, there's chapter one! Hopefully I can figure out how it is you post more chapters, and get it up later tonight! Don't forget to Read&Review! **


	2. Chapter 2: Beatrice the Bear

**Here's Chapter 2, up and running! As you may have noticed, I've altered lines and character responses to show what I think would happen if I was there instead. This will show up more often in later chapters. So, enjoy!**

….

The next day I did my usual routine. I was wearing my usual uniform of ponytail, jeans, and a tee-shirt, a sage-colored Palm Springs one today( **I'm going to be naming tee-shirts I own**). When I got on the bus, I displayed my usual exterior of calm disinterest, but inside I was an emotional jumble. I was dreading seeing Dana again, as I didn't know what he'd do next, but most of all, I was thrilled by the idea of seeing the barefoot guy again.

I got on to less twittering than the day before, but there was still some drama. I made my way to the seat across the isle from Garret, who looked up from his book as I sat down. He looked me over.

"Sweet threads." He noted. I gave him a distracted smile and thanks. He must have noticed my discomfort, because he gave me a sympathetic smile. He then looked back at some commotion at the back of the bus, and I followed his gaze. It was Dana, the jock's jock, wrestling with a couple of his buddies. Garret looked back at me and sat back down. "Hey, man! Looks like it might be your lucky day!"

I sighed. Great. If I had had any luck remaining, he'd just jinxed it. True to my pessimistic thoughts, Dana spotted me and started to move my way. I glared Garret, who gave a sheepish "Sorry.", and quickly turned back to my book, in the vain hope he would leave me alone if I were busy.

"Hey, babe." I sighed. No such luck. "What 'cha doing tonight?" Not looking up from my book, I shot back, "None of your business, jackass." He glowered at me. "Well then, I'll take it that you'll be going with me to the movies, then, since you apparently have nothing to do."

I looked up then. The nerve! "Actually, I'm going to dinner with my parents. And even if I wasn't, there is no way I would EVER go out with you."

He grabbed my hair then, and yanked it hard. He just had the chance to spit into my ear "Listen, BITCH….", before I did what any self-respecting girl would do. I clocked him. Hard. I spun around, like I did for discus, and punched him in the nose with a resounding CRUNCH. I caught a glimpse of a tanned blond blur out of the corner of my eyes, and with a split second thought, was of like a shot. I grabbed my stuff, just as the bus was slowing, and, to Garret's protests of "Where are you going?" ran off the bus. As I was shooting through the doors, I bumped into a girl only a couple inches shorter than me. She had blond hair, lighter than mine, in a cool braided design that I noted for future use.

"Watch it!" She snapped at me. She had on red glasses, and had brown eyes.

"Sorry!" I gasped as I ran past. I could hear Dana screeching from the bus, and I didn't want to be there for the aftermath.

I shot down the street in pursuit, finding my rhythm as I ran. Running off my adrenaline was a relief.

"Hey! Wait!" I shouted. I was about 40 feet behind him now. He looked back, and I saw a shocked expression on his face, most likely from the fact I was gaining on him. I smiled at that. He's probably never seen anyone as fast as him before. No one's ever seen me run full out, not even me.

I decided to give it a shot. I ran after him a while longer, crossing a bridge, and following him onto a golf course. Finally, I stopped. I watched him run into the forest surrounding the course. I wouldn't chase him. I assumed he had enough on his plate without worrying about some psycho chick running after him. I decided to come back later, and started heading back home, when I heard some frantic shouting.

I turned around just in time to see a golf ball headed towards my forehead. I felt it collide with my head, and blacked out, but not before I heard one of the guys ask "So, what kind of club did you use?"

I hate golfers.

…...

When I woke up, I saw Mama and Dad sitting on my bed. They looked worried.

"Hey," I said hoarsely as I sat up. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you might be able to tell us." Dad, of course. Mom shot him a quick glare, before turning to me. "Honey, why did you punch that boy?" I groaned. I knew I forgot to tell them about yesterday.

"It was in self defense, okay? You know me. If some guy threatens me, I'll go down biting."

"What did he do?" She was deadpanning. This had happened before. But less dramatic as this time. Less physical violence, and more pointed remarks and exclusion from the whole class. Normally, I tell my mom anything important, but this time, for some reason I kept my tongue.

"He got a bit….overenthusiastic when asking me out. He grabbed my hair, and I was trying to get free."

"Well, you broke his nose." I did a short victory dance in my head. Served him right. And if I was taking fairly large pleasure in the fact I broke a guy's nose, well, that was my business, wasn't it?

"And you aren't allowed on the bus for three days."

"Fab! I can ride my bike!"

"That's not the point. Now, I'm glad you stood up for yourself, but I think you went to far." I gaped at him. "Now your principal and I agreed that you should write him a letter of apology." I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Why would they do this to me?

"You're joking!" I gasped. "Why would you do this to me? And, more to the point, who'll help him read it?"

Mom chuckled, but quickly quieted down after a glare from Dad. He was looking seriously at me, and I was gazing angrily at them.

"Please get out of my room." I said stonily. "I'm feeling sick, and I want to sleep." Mom looked upset, and Dad looked angry. He would start shouting soon. "Please." Then they left, leaving me feeling angry and betrayed, to wonder at how he could be so cruel.

…

The next day I was feeling better. I was still seething from Dad's betrayal, but I figured I might as well get the thing over with. At least I was spared the humiliation of reading it to the class. I would be holding this grudge for a while, though. I had ridden my bike to school, so I hadn't seen Dana, thank god.

As I walked out of the cafeteria with my lunch tray, a hand on my shoulder yanked me around. I came face to face with the girl I had jostled on the bus. "You nearly knocked me over yesterday." She stated forcefully. "Why were you running?"

"Look, I had just broken the nose of the meanest jock in school, after having my hair yanked out for turning down a date with the winner." I said the last part with my voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I wasn't going to stick around."

"Oh, I heard all about it, Cali girl, but that's not why you ran off, was it?" My face hardened. She took that as a yes. She pinned me against the wall with my lunch tray, and spat "Tell the truth."

I let her pin me, but it hurt. If you're a girl, you'll know what I'm talking about. I winced, which she, again, took as encouragement. "You were chasing someone, weren't you?" I liked her interrogation style, but less so than if I weren't experiencing it first hand. Then I absorbed what she'd just said.

"You saw him, too? The guy with no shoes?" I winced internally at the eagerness in those words. She got an expression I recognized as the same one I had whenever I talk about wolves, or my dogs. A fierce, protective gaze out of a guarded face. "Oh, I didn't see anything. And if you know what's good for you, neither did you. Got it?" She said it in a way that warranted no disagreement. I gave a tense nod, and she let me go. As I looked at her retreating figure, I wondered how she knew him. And was horrified to feel a bit of jealousy at the thought.

…

"'Dear Dana, I promise not to hit you ever again, so long as you don't ask me out on a date again. I think that's a fair arrangement. I don't date, and would like you to respect that. Most sincerely, Sasha M-F.'" I folded the paper I was reading and leaned forward. "So, what'd you guys think?"

I was reading my 'apology' letter to my parents. I had finally arrived at what I thought was the letter least likely to be rejected by them.

"That was good, sweetheart, but do you think it could be a bit more tactful?" My mom, the diplomat.

"Mom, trust me on this, that is the most tactful way I could possibly think of to say 'bugger off and I won't break a more important part of your body.'"

"The letter's fine. You did good, sweetheart." Well, thank you, Dad. I didn't say anything, because it goes without saying that I was still livid.

"I'm going to go read. Let me know when dinner's ready."

….

At school the next day, (he had been sick) Garret was nearly vibrating with excitement.

"Nobody in the history of Trace High School has EVER hit a Matherson before. Let alone a girl!" At this I glared at him. "Even," he chuckled nervously, "a scary Amazon girl. You're a legend already!"

"Look," I had to stop him. "I'm glad I've left my mark on history. Can we please drop it? Okay look," I added, "I wrote him a note and with any luck, that'll be the end of it."

"A _note_?" He said with disbelief, "That's adorable. What'd you say? 'Sorry I smoked you, but please don't make me break every bone in your body. If I'm in a forgiving mood, I'll leave you one good arm so you can feed yourself.'"

I started laughing about halfway through. I chuckled, "That's about it, but sadly more subtle, so he probably won't get it."

He joined in, and we were both laughing when I heard a familiar voice say "We've got a game to win. Let's be a team for once." I turned around to see the blond girl walk by.

I nudged a chuckling Garret, and nodded in her direction. "What do you know about her?"

He followed my gaze and deadpanned. "That's Beatrice the Bear." So her name's Beatrice. Interesting. She glared at me as she walked past. "Please don't tell me you messed with her too." I just looked at him. He groaned. "What IS it with you, dude? I mean, seriously?"

"She just got all up in my face for some reason, I'm just wondering why. What's her story?"

"She's a major soccer jock, with attitude. Actually, now that I think about it, you guys are pretty alike. But, off topic. First Dana Matherson, now Beatrice the Bear? You must have one huge death wish, dude."

I thought about what he'd said. I liked Beatrice. She seemed pretty cool, a person I could be friends with. I resolved to talk to her tomorrow, to try and see if we could clear the air. Maybe we could be friends.

…...

**There we are! Chapter 2 complete! I'm going to take a break for a little bit, and then see if I can write some more later tonight. Hope you're enjoying the story! Don't forget to Read & Review! Otherwise, I can't tell how many people read it!**


	3. Chapter 3: Apologys and the Barefoot Guy

**Chapter three up! I'll be trying to update everyday until the story is finished, so stay tuned. I can't wait to see where it ends up! I have the basic idea, but I'm pretty much winging it, at this point. I'm going to go to the end of the story, then have an epilogue about a year later. Let's see what I have in store this time, eh?**

**Enjoy!**

….

The next day, I went looking for Beatrice at lunch. I was wearing my sandals, some khaki hiking shorts, and a dark green tank top. I finally spotted her, and loped over. I plunked down next to her, to several shocked gasps from her teammates. I inwardly grinned at the thought of their reactions to what I was about to say.

She glared at me. "What is your problem?"

"Actually, Beatrice, I think you have a problem. That's why I'm here. You see, I have no idea what I've done to offend you. And I feel I have a right to know, since you seemed pretty upset about it, whatever it, is. Now, since you're not the one who got propositioned by an ogre," at this she cracked a small smile, "and you're not the one who got your nose broken, I can't see how you would be mad. But if I did anything to offend you, then I'm very sorry. But it was in no way intentional. So next time you have a problem, tell me, and we can talk it over like normal people."

"Normal?" She was giving me an appraising look, like she was making up her mind about whether she should kill me or not. I stood up, and looked back at her.

"Are we cool?"She just looked at me.

I grinned. "A girl after my own heart. I like you." She looked a tad shocked. "Good, well, I'm glad we've had the chance to get to know each other just a little better."

As I walked away, I heard "She's pretty cool, don'cha think?" I grinned when I heard in response, "Yeah. She's pretty cool."

….

My Mom and I pulled up alongside a dumpy house in the car. We just stared at it for a while. Finally I went to get out of the car. Mom looked concerned. "You're _sure _you don't want me to go with you?" Her tone was skeptical. I just wanted to get this over with as fast and painlessly as possible. Like a band-aid.

"Just…keep the engine running." I got out of the car and walked to the door. I rang the buzzer, and then waited. Finally, a woman opened the door. She looked as dumpy as the house.

"Hi, is Dana home?" She looked surprised. I couldn't blame her.

"Who are you?"

"I go to school with him." I nearly added under my breath, 'unfortunately', but I managed to hold it back, as I figured that would not go down well.

"Dana?" She yelled, to no response. "_Dana!_" This time she shrieked. I looked back at mom, who looked taken aback. Good. Hopefully she would tell Dad about the kind of person he was making me apologize to.

"What?" That was Dana. This was not going to go well, I could tell.

"Get over here." His mom, I was assuming, hissed at him.

The door swung back to reveal Dana, in all his bruised, swollen glory. Again, I felt a bit of self-satisfaction at the damage I had inflicted. That quickly melted away, though when I saw the look on his face.

"I am not believing thith." He growled, with a slight lisp.

"Hi, Dana, Just came by to give you this letter. It's….an apology." I finally managed to spit out the last bit. Man, did that hurt my pride.

He snatched it out of my hand while his mom asked, "Um, so, who are you again?"

"I'm Sasha, the girl your son assaulted the other day, the one who slugged him in the nose."

She wheezed a short laugh. "You gotta be kiddin' me." She turned back to Dana. "This little witch is the one who messed up your beautiful face?" Well, I thought, I wouldn't have described it quite like that, but sure.

"Yeah, Mommy." He said childishly. Then he shot a glare at me, as though he had heard my mental snicker. I tried to get myself back under control.

"L-look, I—I came by to say I'm sorry, ma'am." I could barely say that lie in a letter. I was having HUGE trouble saying it aloud. "It's all in the letter." I tried not to face-palm.

She snatched it from Dana, as he spat, "Me and you will thettle up when I get back to thchool."

"Actually, this letter is supposed to settle us." Stupid, I know! I jut couldn't stand the idea of doing all this, going to all this trouble, and having nothing to show for it.

Well, in any case, it was the wrong answer. Dana grabbed the letter back from his mom, and stepped menacingly forward. I positioned my left foot behind me, getting ready for another fight.

He crumpled the letter in his fist, and said, "Me and you are far from thettled. Now get lost, Cali girl." He jabbed me with his index finger at that last bit. Must have heard about Beatrice's nickname.

I growled as I spun around and made my way back to the car. It went against my will to retreat, but there was no other feasible option. My body and mind were screaming for blood. How DARE this _boy_ think he could disrespect me? How dare he speak to me that way!

As I got in, Mama commented, "They're both very odd, aren't they?" I could tell that this was the biggest apology I could expect from her. I accepted it.

"Yes, they are, if by odd you mean psycho. Please drive." Okay, so maybe not entirely.

She smiled, looked over at the pair, who were now wrestling over the letter, and joked, "Maybe I should go introduce myself."

I wasn't amused. "Not funny. Start the car."

….

After being creamed by the ball, I wasn't too thrilled to go back to the golf course. But that was the only place I could think of that the barefoot guy might be, and I wanted to talk to him. So, after the fiasco at Dana's, I rode my bike over there, and locked it to a small clump of palm trees.

I took off my shoes and started jogging over to the forest across the course. The grass was lovely, warm, and soothing to the feet. As I got closer, I noticed that the forest looked cool and inviting. I couldn't blame the guy for going there. It looked awesome. I've always loved forests, ever since I was little. By the time I was 4, I could shimmy my way up a 40 foot redwood in 15 seconds flat. I grinned. I'm liking this kid more and more.

When I got to the surrounding undergrowth, I stopped. I breathed in the smells of rotting wood and greenery. I stepped in. It felt like I'd walked into a portal to another world. I was careful not to step on plant as I trod through this magical place. I felt a bubbling in my chest. I started singing. To be precise, I started to sing Arms, by Kristina Perry (**Currently my fav song**). I may be biased, but I think I sounded damn good. My deep, (for a girl) alto voice rang with emotion, as I concentrated instead of on pronouncing the words, but on putting as much of the glee and contentment I felt into the song as possible. As my voice rang through the jungle, it felt like every noise was singing with me.

I reached the edge of the forest just as the last notes trailed off. I came upon a ship scrap yard, from the look of it. I decided to let him know I was there, in case he was there too.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone here?" I looked down, and noticed a fire smoldering. I threw a couple sticks on it from a pile nearby. None had been snapped off of a tree.

I poked around, feeling a bit guilty about messing with his stuff, and looked in one of a couple of bags sitting on a log next to the fire. It had the clothes the guy had been wearing the first time I saw him in it. I moved on to a brown sack sitting next to it on the ground. I opened it. Inside were a bunch of snakes. I gave a short shriek, and dropped it back down. The snakes, I recognized, were cottonmouths. Highly poisonous.

One slithered out of the bag, and onto my bare foot. I froze, terror seeping into my bones.

"This is NOT good."

"I wouldn't move, if I were you." A voice warned behind me. If I could freeze a second time, I did. The voice sounded guarded, bordering on hostile. Well, I'd gotten my wish. I'd met the barefoot guy.

"Wasn't planning on it, not with a cottonmouth." I could hear my terror seeped into the words.

"I want you to step back, real slowly." His voice softened. He had noticed my fear. "On three."

"Um, I think I'll need a little assistance with that!"

"One—," He grabbed my hand. It felt calloused and warm. Comforting.

"Two—," He gripped harder.

"Three!" he pulled me back as I jumped. He quickly put a sack on my head while I regained my ability to breathe.

"Um, whaaat are you doing?" I asked while letting him bind my hands behind my back.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" He sounded a little annoyed, but mostly disturbed.

"My name's Sasha, and I came by to talk to you. I saw you running past the bus the other day." I let a little humor creep into my voice as I added, "I haven't seen anyone other than me run that fast."

"Really?" I had peaked his intrest.

"Yeah. Look, I didn't come here to hassle you." My words sunk in. "Well, any more than I already have." He gave a low chuckle. I could feel his breath against the back of my neck. The combination made my hair stand on end. "I just thought… I dunno. You just looked interesting. I haven't seen a kid my age run without shoes like I do, before."

He pulled me up. "Well, sadly, you have to get out of here, like, right now."

"Alright." I said with a resigned sigh. "Just, do me a favor? Don't make me walk over anything particularly sharp or unpleasant or anything." He gave a loud laugh. It was a warm laugh, like honey and sun-warmed wood, one that made you want to join in.

"Alright," he said, still chuckling. "I'll spare you this time."

"So, she asks, certain he'll turn her down, why'd you have cottonmouths in a bag?" I asked as he started me on our march.

"You're right; that's my business." The laughter was nearly gone from his voice.

"Okay, no asking about the snakes, got it. So, personal life, off limits?"

"Yup."

"Darn. And just when things were getting interesting."I got another laugh. I marveled at it for a second, before diving back in. "So, where are you taking me? And, please note, my eyebrows are currently raised." He chuckled. God, he's attractive!

"I'm sending you back to where hence you came." This time, I chuckled. "Keep walking and don't turn around 'till you count to fifty." He gave me a little push. I had just started walking when he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "And you have a gorgeous singing voice," He whispered into my ear. I could feel myself flushing, and thanked every deity I knew for the bag on my head. It felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. He gave me another little shove. "Now start counting." He sounded amused. I obeyed, feeling to dizzy to do anything but.

As I stumbled along, counting, I reflected. Boys normally have no effect on me whatsoever. But something about this one made me feel like I could run a thousand miles on his laughter alone. What was it?

I stumbled heavily and got annoyed at myself. I hate feeling like a ditzy, popular girl, the kind I saw every day, and this boy made me feel bubbly and stupid. "Ten, eleven, UUGH, forget it." I said, unbinding my hands, and taking of the hood as I spoke. I was talking about more than the counting. I resolved to come back and learn more about him. I was uncomfortably aware that given my attraction to the guy, my decision could be called stalker-esq, but, it couldn't be helped. And, besides, he hadn't told me to stay away, had he?

I felt a strange sense of déjà-vu, when I heard shouting from the golfers. I turned around, just in time to be hit by another golf ball, in the same spot as the first. I dropped like a brick.

"That hurt."

…...

**Chapter 3, done! Finally, I meet the barefoot kid! Little fluff, not much. That's for later chapters! And I changed their ages. Beatrice and Mulletfingers are 15, and I'm… I mean, my OC is 14. And all, with the exception of Mullet fingers, for obvious reasons, are freshman. No reviews yet, so review as soon as you read! The song Arms copyright Kristina Perry, 2011.**


	4. Chapter 4: I Learn About Mulletfingers

**Chapter 4! For some reason, I'm getting nervous about this fic. No idea why. But, I'll keep writing, regardless. **

**Time to work!**

….

The next day at breakfast, Dad read me a story about some police car getting painted, which I had deemed awesome. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe the barefoot guy had something to do with the pranks on the site. I stopped by the local Goodwill after lunch and got some cheap guy's sandals. I figured, the barefoot guy probably didn't want shoes, but he should at least have the choice. After getting the sandals, I made my way over to the golf course, stopping by the construction site the paper had mentioned.

When I got there, I saw the plans they had for the place posted on the fence. They looked horrible, compared to what was already there. The site was currently a natural clearing, with grass and leaves and some tall trees shading it. If it weren't for the fence and trailer, I would've seen this site as a great place to read, or chill out. I understood how someone could go to such lengths to protect it.

As I pulled up along the fence to get a better look, some movement in a burrow in front of me caught my eye. I looked down to see a burrowing owl staring up at me, a baby hiding behind its right wing. I crouched down to see closer, and found myself cooing to them.

"Well, hello, little ones!" I greeted in baby talk, "What'cha doing?"

Some shouting drew my attention to the trailer, where a short, slightly over-weight guy wearing a wife-beater was yelling at me.

"Hey! What're you doing, huh?" I stood up. "What do you and your punk friends got planned for tonight?"

"Nothing!" I shouted back. "I read about the site in the paper, and wanted to check it out!"

He started to run over, and I felt a bit of fear. We were in a secluded area, and if I needed to call for help, no one would be able to hear me.

As I started to back off, he got cocky. "You better run! Run, you li'l bugger!" Very brave, frightening off a teenage girl like that. Very daring.

I got on my bike, and continued on my way to the shipyard.

…...

I heard voices as I start to pull up near the ship the guy lived in. I walked closer. I figure they had heard me, because I the voices got vaguely annoyed before cutting off.

I parked my bike, and walked over to the camp. I noticed his jersey hanging from the side of the boat. Other than that, he had pulled up camp well. The only sign anyone had been here was the table and chairs, log, and the remains of the campfire. I went over and felt the ashes' heat. They were cold. Finally, I turned around and called out.

"You cleaned up well. Would've fooled me into thinking no one was here, if I hadn't heard you talking." I opened my backpack, and took out the bag from Goodwill. "Okay, you don't want to talk? That's cool. But, I come-," I was about to say 'bearing gifts,' when a familiar voice interrupted me.

"Looking for this?" Beatrice's voice sounded behind me. I whipped around, and saw Beatrice, sitting on my bike, looking mischievous.

"No, actually, but thank you for finding it." I was mildly surprised. So that had been Beatrice talking to barefoot guy!

I crouched down, and put the bag back into my backpack. When I stood back up again, she was grinning.

"You're welcome. Now hop on."

"What?" I was confused. I could tell she wanted me out of here, but I had no idea where she was going with this.

"Hop on. We're going for a ride."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The handlebars, get on the handlebars, you dork. We're going for a ride." She was starting to get irritated.

I decided to go along with this. Maybe I could get some information from her.

"Okay, fine. Just, one question, is this going to end with my mutilated corpse being tossed into the ocean?"

She grinned. "No."

"Alright then." I swung my backpack over my shoulders, and climbed on.

….

We rode like that for a while, until she spoke up.

"What's in your backpack?" She sounded like a police officer.

"What? Oh, nothing. Can we stop now?" We were near a waterfront gazebo that looked neglected.

"Sure. Tell me what's in the bag."

I hopped off, and opened my backpack. She darted over, and to my protest of 'Hey!' promptly whipped the bag out of my backpack, and darted over to the lawn.

"Sandals!"

"Yeah, right. Tell the truth.

" I swear!"

She opened the bag, and then turned to face me. "Why are you carrying 'round an old pair of sandals? That is weird, Cali girl, really weird." She turned around, and started walking to the gazebo.

"They're not mine, I got them for this barefoot guy I met."

She rounded on me. "Maybe he doesn't want shoes. Ever think of that?" She sounded frustrated, and concerned.

"Yeah, I did. But I thought it would be nice to give him a choice." That floored her. She looked so baffled and worried, that I felt bad. Why was she so upset?

"Why do you care so much about this kid anyway?" I didn't really know how to answer the question, but I did the best I could.

"It's just…I've never met anyone like him before, and he looked like someone I'd want to be friends with. And he seemed like he could use the extra help." She looked sad. Then she perked up.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll make sure that these get to the barefoot guy. Now get out of here!"

"So you do know him!" I said triumphantly. "Who is he?"

She muttered sadly, "You won't leave it alone," as I followed here into the gazebo. It was thatched, like those tikki huts at resorts in Hawaii. She turned to face me.

"Can I trust you?" She asked genuinely. I felt a bit touched.

"Yes." I said it gently. I knew this must be hard for her.

"He's my brother. Well, my stepbrother." She said it fast, but clear, like she had wanted to tell someone for a while, but couldn't. We sat down, and I looked at her encouragingly. The thought that had driven me nuts, the thought that maybe she was his girlfriend, had been proved false. My green-eyed monster did the conga as she said those words. I shoved tem away as I asked, "Why doesn't he live with you?"

She sighed. "My stepmom shipped him off to some military school." She got a proud smile as she added, "He lasted two days, and then ran off. He hitchhiked back all the way from Mobile, Alabama."

She looked at me again suddenly, her eyes fierce. "Nobody else knows he's here, and nobody's gonna tell them, right?"

I was quick to reassure her. "If somebody tells, it won't be me."

She sat back, appeased, but still looked anxious. "About four years ago, when my dad was still playing pro basketball, he went to this celebrity golf tournament where he met some cheerleader named Lana. At the wedding, she shows up with a son that she didn't seem to like at all."

"She didn't like her own son?" I said, disgusted by what had happened. The poor guy…

"I'm the only one he even talks to anymore." She sounded depressed. Given what she'd just told me, I didn't blame her.

"What's his name? Seems rude to just call him 'barefoot guy'."

"I call him Mulletfingers." She gave a small smile.

"Mulletfingers?" I was a little surprised. "Why do you call him that?"

"I think you've heard enough for one day." She grinned, a bit of her previous humor coming back. "Besides," She added, as we both got up off the bench, "it's getting late." A thought hit me.

"Crap! I'm going to be late for dinner!"

She smiled, then turned around and wiggled a nail out of the post next to us.

"Here's your excuse," She said, handing me the nail.

"Tough, AND an evil genius," I said, grinning. "I knew I liked you."

She laughed, and we chatted all the way home.

…...

As I walked my bike home, having dropped Bea at her house, I heard a weird whirring sound. I looked behind me and saw a little cart pull up next to me, with a tiny siren and _POLICE _written on it. I knew it had a siren, because after I looked back, the guy inside turned it on. I stopped, and he pulled up short.

"Looks like you could use a lift!" The police officer said cheerfully. He was friendly guy in his mid-thirties. "Why don't you throw your bike in the back and hop on in." If it'll fit, I thought. But I wasn't in the mood to walk all the way home, and there was no way the guy could kidnap me or anything in THIS thing.

"Alright, thank you sir!" I answered.

"No problem." He chuckled. He seemed like he was genuinely pleased to help. Don't see police officers like that much anymore. After putting my bike in the back, I got in.

"Won't you go ahead and buckle up for me." It seemed hilariously useless to buckle up for a vehicle that couldn't go more than five miles per hour, but I did as he asked.

"One-Baker-six, one-Baker-six, come in." The radio crackled to life. He looked pleased.

"Sorry, I just got a little police business I got to tend to…"

He was interrupted by a "Whoo-hoo!" from the right side of the car. I looked, and saw none other than Mulletfingers dangling on a rope swing over the river next to the road. The officer and I turned back to the radio as he answered it.

"Go for one-Baker-six."

"Did you pick up the captain's dry cleaning yet?" I withheld a snicker. The poor guy. Wanted to show off a little for the kid, and he gets THAT as a message.

He paused, than said confidently, trying to save a scrap of dignity, "10-4 on that."

We cruised along in awkward silence for a few seconds, before he said, "Yeah, this is, uh, just kind of a temporary arrangement." I looked at him, knowing he would continue. "What's your name, kid?" That I wasn't expecting.

"Uh, Sasha, Sasha Matoya-Foster."

"Can I ask you something, Sasha? Now, you go to Trace, right? You ever hear any chatter about stuff that's been happening at the new pancake house that's going up?"

"No, but I read about it in the paper, about how the police car got painted." Now if my guess is right…

"Well, police officers aren't superheroes, Sasha, and a stakeout can be a real test of focus for any good lawman. Even for a cop as good as that cop was." Yup. There it is. I would bet my allowance for the next year that this guy was that officer.

"Ahh, you see how I'm looking at you right now?" He was looking me in the eye. "Like this? You see these eyes? Police work requires focus, Sasha. Whoa!" We avoided hitting a parked car at the last minute as he swerved away. Thank god, for this tiny car, and its lack of speed.

"Watch it!"

"And, uh, extreme tiger-like reflexes like the ones I just exhibited. Whew."

We both sat in silence for a minute, then I asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

It was an awkward drive the rest of the way home.

…

The next day on the bus, I suddenly felt a malevolent presence behind me. I sighed forcefully, closed my Rick Riordan book, that I was apparently destined to never finish, and greeted the evil by name.

"Hello, Dana."

"You and me got some buthineth to thettle, Fothter."

"What "buithneth', Dana I gave you an…apology," Man, still hard to say that, "That makes us even. Or," I added thoughtfully, "I can think of a few more body parts as-of-yet unmolested I would love to damage." I turned back to my book.

"We're a long way from, even, you and me." He growled, grabbing my head tightly. OW. "You're gonna be sorry you messed with me. I am going to be your worst nightmare."

"Too late." I groaned. The bus had stopped, and all of a sudden he let go. I rubbed my head, and opened my eyes. I heard several muffled thumps from behind me. The bus started moving and I turned around to see Beatrice shoving Dana against the window. Dana, to my delight, was whimpering, and looked like he was about to cry.

"What are you staring at?" Bea asked nonchalantly, but the glitter in her eyes betrayed her mirth.

I grinned and started to laugh. "Nice. Thanks, Bea, needed the back-up."

"Anytime." She grinned as we high-fived. She looked back over at Dana, who was looking at us, and gave him another shove.

We laughed and chatted as if nothing was wrong the whole way to school.

…

**Wow! Six pages! Longest yet! Don't forget to Read & Review!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Dog Bite

**Chapter 5! Special shout out to me first reviewer who ISN'T related to me! Thank you, SmileYouLiveLonger!**

**Let's find out what happens next, shall we?**

…...

At lunch I was swarmed by Garret.

"Sasha! Uh, you look sick. REAL sick. You should probably go home early." I stared at him.

"Uh, thanks, Garret, but, I feel fine."

"Dude, I don't care how you think you feel, trust me," he swung me around and looked straight into my eyes; "you should call your mom and go home. Seriously." He looked so upset and nervous, that I started to get worried.

"Okay, Garret, seriously; what's wrong?" He shot a glance around hallway, before answering me.

"Look, I know a guy in Dana's P.E. class. He says that Dana's planning to snatch you before you get on the bus."

"And do what?" I was trying to remain calm. I had a feeling about what the answer was going to be, whether Garret knew for sure or not.

"I don't know. But I guess you got till 3:15 to find out." He looked really worried.

I felt an unusual wave of affection for the little dork that was my best guy friend. I tried to reassure him, though I was more than a little nervous myself. "Hey, it'll be okay, bud. I can handle myself pretty well. If Dana tries anything funny, he's going to be missing a certain set of somethings I know boys hold very dear."

He gave a small gulp, then a chuckle, and I knew he would be fine. Now there was me I needed to worry about.

The last warning bell rang, and I looked around for Beatrice. I finally caught sight of her running in the back gate. She must've been checking on Mulletfingers, I reasoned. Then I noticed the frantic, worried look on her face, and felt a chill. What had happened?

I was out of time to ask her. As I sprinted to my second-to-last class of the day, my mind was spinning with questions and fears. I shook them off. I have to stop this, I told myself. There's no way I'm gonna back out of a fight, and I'll go crazy if I keep thinking all these 'what if?'s.

So I went to class, and tried not to think about what was going to happen after school.

…

"So to answer your question, Pacific swells are usually a lot bigger than Atlantic swells. But remember; Kelly Slater is from Florida." I was in my last, and normally favorite, class of the day, Biology. Mr. Ryan was just finishing up, when the bell rang. "Okay, test tomorrow. Be ready." Everyone was rushing out the door. Everyone except me. I sat in a daze, wondering how I had been so confidante about facing Dana.

"Sasha, you okay?" His concerned voice cut through my haze of thoughts like a knife.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Oh, yeah, um, everything's fine."

"Well, alright. See ya Monday." And with that he was gone. I got up slowly, and put my stuff away. I walked out the door, feeling each of my heart's frantic beats painfully. I sped up wanting to get this ordeal over with.

I turned a corner, and saw the bus at the end. I felt relief start to seep into me, but I pushed it back. I couldn't get cocky to early. For a split second, I remembered Beatrice's face at lunch, and that was enough to shake me out of it. I gripped my bag, and ran toward the bus. My friends needed me.

I was about halfway down the hall, when something large exploded out of a nearby closet, grabbed me, and pulled me in. The surprise filled me with adrenaline, and I began scratching and biting every bit of my attacker, obviously Dana, that I possibly could.

He whipped me around, and pinned me against the wall of the closet. I screeched out, "I told you! We're settled!" He had my arms pinned, and I bucked and hissed wildly, like a trapped cat.

"Not even close." He chuckled menacingly, and he leaned down to kiss me. I gagged. His breath was as repulsive as his personality.

Before he could touch me, I kicked out with both my feet as hard as I could, snarling fiercely as I did so, and hit him in two geographically close, but entirely different regions. One foot hit him in the gut, which would have winded him, but the real prize-winner was the area which my second foot hit, which was significantly lower, if you get what I mean.

He gave a short scream of pain, before dropping to the floor. I wasted no time. I dashed to the door, pausing briefly to give the curled body on the floor a few more choice kicks, then locked it and closed the door. I leaned against it, as I tried to catch my breath.

I was surprised once again, when Bea came rushing toward me. She looked a mix between horrified, worried, and full of rage. She stopped short when she saw me, but quickly began sprinting my way, shouting, "Oh, thank god! I was so worried!"

I gave her a tired grin. "God had nothing to do with it. A goddess, now that might be another story…"

She laughed, but I saw tears of relief in her eyes. When she got close, she swept me into a fierce hug. "I'm sorry I got here so late."

"I am too. I just locked Dana Matherson in a closet, with what I think is a serious medical emergency involving his cajones."

She let me go, and shot me an incredulous glance. "No way."

I just grinned, and pointed to the closet. She walked over, listened at the door for a few seconds. When she stood up, she grinning. "You sure did a number on him. I haven't heard that much sobbing since the last time a guy pinched my butt." She got serious then. "But, as much fun as this is, we got a problem."

I sobered up as well. "Is it Mulletfingers?"

She nodded, and we sprinted to her bike. "We gotta go. Hop on, I need your help."

…

I quickly determined that that it was a medical problem. After a quick stop at my house, where I picked up my huge medical supplies cache, along with a book on basic medical procedures and my bike, we went as fast as we could to the old ship yard.

When we got there, we rushed up the stairs and into the boat as fast as we could. When I arrived inside, I could smell the infection.

"I came by at lunch, and I found him like this." I nodded. I was in doctor mode.

He was lying on the bed in a board shorts and a white wife-beater. The shirt was soaked in sweat. He was tossing and turning, moaning slightly. I felt a short wave of pain run through me at seeing him like this.

"The dog got me." He told me hoarsely, as I sat down by his side and examined the wound. It wasn't pretty. It was swollen, white around the punctures, but an angry red color surrounding that.

I felt his forehead, then kissed it to be sure. Bea gave a squeak, but I shot her a look that told her that I was doing it for a genuine medical reason. He had quieted, and was gazing at me with a weird look in his eyes. I paid no attention. I had a more important task at hand.

"You have a fever, about 102 degrees." I informed him quietly. "I'm going to put antibiotic cream on the bite, give you some pain and fever reducing meds, and some oral antibiotics, along with poultice over the wound. That'll draw out the infection. If it does work, I'll drain the wound further and try to stitch it up. I may be able to fix it without us needing to go to the doctor, but don't count on it."

They both looked a bit stunned. "Thanks," Mulletfingers said after a few minutes silence. "That's great." I smiled.

"I want to be a vet." I told them both. "I always have. Now I guess we'll see if I'm any good."

As I started the cleaning and healing of the wound, I started grilling him. "So, how'd a wild child like you get bit?" He gave a weak chuckle.

"My arm got stuck." He hissed as I touched a particularly sensitive part of it.

"Doing what?" I pressed.

"I got some little friends I look after over at this construction site. Anyway, the brought in these big dogs to get rid of me, so I put some snakes around the lot to freak the dogs out. See, I knew the trainer would drag 'em out of there if he saw that they were cottonmouths."

"Would this have anything to do with the port-a-potty gators, or the painted cop car?" I asked, starting to put the picture together in my head.

"If they build that pancake place, than the owls are toast." He sounded distraught.

"I've seen those baby owls." He looked confused.

"Wait, you have?"

"Why can't they build somewhere else?"I asked, but I thought I knew the answer to that. Bea spoke up.

"We tried to tell them about the nest, but all we got back was this form letter from this jerk named Muckle, saying they had all the permits they needed to build. They don't care about some little birds on a construction site. My brother's been trying to stall them ever since." Mulletfingers suddenly grimaced and gripped the curtains. The pain subsided, and I decided to give him the meds now.

I gave them to him, and things went a bit more smoothly. I finished, and started to tuck him in, informing him, "Now, try to sleep. Your body will heal itself, but it needs rest to do it." It was a fit of maternal instinct, one that I had no idea I possessed.

He grabbed my wrist as I started to pull away, and I suddenly found myself unable to breathe. He looked at me, and asked hoarsely, "Sing to me? I love your voice." I found my gaze softening.

"Sure." I couldn't have denied that childish blue gaze anything. And so I sang. I sang to him the lullabies my mother used to sing to me when I was sick, songs that reminded me of being small, and warm, and held tightly in my Mama's arms.

Slowly, he started to drift off. He was smiling, and around the middle of "Pretty Little Horses', his breathing slowed. I got up, and saw Beatrice standing in the doorway. She gave me a small smile.

"Thanks. He needed that." I remembered what she had told me about her stepmom, and I felt my heart harden. Somehow, I doubted that he had never received the treatment I had just given him when he was sick before, unless it came from Bea.

"It was no problem." I turned back to look at him. "If you want, I can call my mom. Ask her if I can spend the night at your house."

She smiled. "Naw. Just tell me what I need to do, and we'll be fine."

I ran over what she needed to do, and before I left, added, "If he gets worse, call me, and we'll take him to the free clinic. I'll chip in."

I had stayed the whole afternoon on that boat, and I would get home just in time for dinner. I slept badly all night, worrying over Mulletfingers.

….

**Mua hah hah! Cliffhanger! I can't write anymore, I'm sorry. It's getting late, and I'm tired. I figured I should quit while I'm ahead. As always, remember, Read & Review!**


	6. Chapter 6: I See the Wilds

**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long to update. I haven't been feeling well. I wrote most of this last night, but I was so sleepy I decided to wait until today to finish. But finally we get to the fluff! YAY! Anyways, on with the show!**

….

The next day, I biked down to the shipyard to check on Mulletfingers. I was seriously worried. That had been a huge bite to the arm, and I'd never healed anything more serious than a small cut from a knife before. I was wearing boy's board shorts and a tank top.

I entered Mullet's room with a knock to the doorframe. "Room service!" I'd brought with me several sandwiches, some apples, and other foodstuffs. "What'cha want? I got egg salad, turkey, chicken-," I looked up from my bag to look at him, and was stunned into silence.

There he was, lying on the bed, apparently waking up from a nap, SHIRTLESS. I was struck momentarily dumb. 'My god!' I thought, 'He looks gorgeous!' I shook off my mental drooling at the view, and barged ahead, trying desperately to focus on anything but his perfect bod. "So, what'cha want?"

He sat up, causing his defined abs to flex, (not that I noticed, or anything. Shut up!) "Over here! Don't care!" I tossed him a random sandwich, which he promptly tore into. "Thanks!" He mumbled.

"So, how's the arm?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He looked more clearheaded, and had a clean bandage on his arm.

He looked at it, than up at me, a look of admiration in his eyes. "Fevers gone, but I ache all over. It's to be expected after all that, though. How did you learn to do that?"

I flashed a smile at him. "I took an interest in home remedies a while ago and did a bunch of research. You were my first patient." He laughed.

"Well, you passed with flying colors." He looked seriously at me. "And, seriously; thank you. If you hadn't been here… Well, it wouldn't have been pretty." I gave him a lopsided smile.

"Anytime."

"Did ya get in any trouble?" He asked guiltily.

"Naw. I'd told them I'd be spending the day with Bea, just in case." I looked at him. "I told them about the owls and Mother Paula's." He paused in the middle of sipping his drink.

He looked at me while putting it down. "And what did they say?"

I leaned against the dresser. "Well, apparently, they can do whatever they want to the land, so long as it's legal. Even if it's awful, apparently there's nothing we can do."

He looked at me, a soft emotion in his eyes. "We?"

I snorted. "Of course, we. You didn't think I'd let you and Bea do this alone?"

He looked hopeful. "You saying it's not a lost cause?" I grinned. "Yes! You're starting to think like an outlaw, Cali."

"Am I now?" I asked coyly. It was fun, this bantering with him. It made me feel fresh, and alive.

"Yeah, you are." He said, as he got off the bed and went to put on a shirt. "Last night, the way you healed me? Definitely an outlaw move." I plastered an incredulous expression on my face, but I knew that he could see the laughter in my eyes.

"You were hurt." He had crossed to the other side of the small room, and now had on a clean white undershirt. Pity, that. He turned to face me with an intense expression on his face. My breath caught in my throat.

"You crossed a line 'cause you cared about what happened to me." We were about a foot away, and he looked me in he eyes with…hope? Did he care about me to? He shook it off, and replaced it with enthusiasm. "Hey! Come on, I got something really cool to show ya!" And with that, he dashed out of the boat. I let out a shaky breath. What had just happened?

I followed him off the boat, and caught up with him. He started talking again once I was next to him. "Ever since I was little, I've been watching this place disappear. The piney woods, the mangroves, the creeks, and the glades…even the beaches." He looked at me with a flash of pain in his eyes. I knew how he felt. Whenever I see someone litter on the beach, or chop down a tree, I feel the same. "An' then they put up giant hotels and only goober tourists are allowed. It really sucks." He sounded bitter. I felt sad for him, and for the earth that there were so few like him.

"It does suck." I agreed. "And the same thing is happening everywhere. There are so few wild places left, and we're destroying them." He looked at me.

"Wait. They got mountains where you're from, right?" I got dreamy eyed.

"Yeah. Miles and miles. Full of redwoods and flowers and animals. And different climates, to, so close to each other. You can be in the desert one minute, and then drive thirty miles and be in the snow and mountains."

"See, that's what we need here. I mean, the state's so flat, there's nothin' to stop 'em from bulldozing from one coast to another." I looked at him and smiled.

"Except for you." I said with affection. He puffed up and grinned. Boys. Exactly the same, every one of 'em.

"Yeah. Except for me."

We walked through a side yard that lead to a dock, passing a black, three-legged standard poodle. As we passed, Mullet stopped to give it the rest of his sandwich.

"He your dog?" I asked curiously. I knelt down and cooed a greeting to it. He came over as I scratched him, tail a wag, and started to lick my face. I giggled, and kissed his nose.

"Naw. I got a deal with the dock master. I feed his dog, and he lets me use his boat whenever I want." He was studying me with a glint of admiration in his eye. "So, you like dogs?" I looked up from the dog, which had now sat down by my side and was leaning into me.

"Yup. And most of the time, they love me too." I looked down at the poodle's missing left front leg. "What happened to his leg?" Mullet had by now hopped into the boat.

"Croc got it. Had to change his name to Skip." He started the boat, and I said my goodbyes to Skip, who looked forlornly at my retreating figure as I hopped in the boat.

…

We spent the afternoon talking abut anything and everything. Mulletfingers showed me the Florida wilderness, and I was awestruck by its beauty. We stopped for a bit at a secluded cove.

"Oh, cool! Watch this!" He thrust his hand quickly into the water, and pulled out a wriggling silver dart. "Whaaa-hoo! Take a peak!" I leaned over, and found myself looking at an anchovy-size fish in his palm.

"Whoa. What is it?" I asked, awestruck.

He glowed at my reaction. "It's a mullet! See, that's why my sister calls me Mulletfingers. Ain't too many people who can do that, you know?" I looked at him in surprise. Was he trying to impress me? If he was, it had worked. "Swim fast, little guy," He said, releasing the small fish back in the river.

I loved the wilds of Florida. I loved all the sounds and sights we encountered. I hoped my delight showed on my face, because I didn't think I could voice the extent of it to him.

At one point, we both stripped down (thank god I'd had the foresight to wear a bikini instead of underwear) and swam down to the bottom of a river to look at a sunken ship. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could have sworn that when I took off my shirt, his eyes widened, and he gave a small gasp. I thought I heard him mutter as I dove into the water, something along the lines of, "This was a _great_ idea!"

"So," he asked when we were back on the boat, "What do ya think, California?"

"Everything's so beautiful," I said reverently. "Thank you so much for showing me everything." He grinned.

"You're welcome." He looked around, and then smiled mischievously. "Two weeks ago, I saw a gator in here." I looked at him, mouth wide open. "It was about nine-footer."

"No way!" He grinned at me. "Great, now you tell me."

He chuckled. "Heh. It ain't the gators you gotta worry about." I shot him a small glare. "Not that you were worrying, or anything. It's the mosquitoes." We floated along for a while, before I turned to him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, anything but my real name." I looked at him curiously. "I don't need one. Not here. And neither do you." I grinned.

"Yeah. I know what you mean." I scanned the trees, before asking, "What's the deal with you and your mom?" He froze for a second before answering.

"I dunno," he sighed, "We just never…really… connected. I-I-I-I don't know." It seemed like a tough subject for him. "I quit sweatin' it a long time ago, though. I me—Besides, the animals are all I need to get by." I looked at him sympathetically.

"Yeah. I get it. If I could live like you do, I would. But I couldn't do that to my mom and dad."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He looked at me, and I looked at him. And it was like in all the world, there was only us. Out here, with me, his eyes shone green-gray, the color of the swamp. Then we hit a bump, and the moment passed.

…

I went around the rest of the day in my bikini top and board shorts. We settled on a sandbar next, and when we waded out he taught me how to toss a fishing net.

"Okay. You toss this part over your shoulder, and bite here." He demonstrated, and then came up behind me, and guided my arms in the movements, talking softly. It was paradise. Everything, from the lick of the cool water around our knees, to the way his skin pressed against mine sent tingles through it, felt right. Perfect. I copied his movements, and after a few tries, I was nearly as good as he was.

"Wow. You're a natural." He complimented softly. I looked at him, and saw him gazing at me tenderly.

"C'mon," I said, feeling giddy with happiness. "Let's nap a bit."

As we sunbathed, he asked about my likes and dislikes, and I told him about my love of dogs, my interest in herbal medicine, the love and reverence I held for the environment, the connection I felt with wolves, and most of all, my fascination with primitive skills.

When we were all talked out, Mullet and I lay in the back of the boat together, sunbathing and chatting lazily. The sun scorched my skin, filling me with warmth. After a while, we eventually started the boat back up and headed back for home. I leaned against Mulletfingers shoulder, a casual contact that took me by surprise. Apparently, it was the same for him, because he immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders the minute I leaned against his. I breathed in, inhaling the smell of his skin. It smelled like water and trees and Mulletfingers. I smiled, and snuggled in.

I must've dozed off, because the next thing I knew, I was being shaken gently.

"Wolfgirl!" He whispered, "We're at the dock. Time to wake up." I yawned, did a full-body cat stretch, and got out of the boat, my shirt in my hand. He was watching from the dock, a small smile on his face as I clambered off. I greeted Skip, who was overjoyed to see me, and then turned to Mullet.

"I had a great time. Do this again?" He had a soft but intense look in his eye.

"Definatly, Wolfgirl." Well, I thought, now or never.

"Thank you." I walked up to him, heart in hand, and hugged him, pecking him on the corner of his mouth as I did so. I walked to my bike, looking back to see him watching me go, touching the place I had kissed, and wearing a dopey grin as big as mine. I laughed, and as I turned out the driveway I heard a massive whoop from where I had left him. I don't think my bike touched the ground the whole way home.

….

**And there we are! YAY! I was grinning as I wrote the last bit. On to the next chapter! As always, Read & Review!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Groundbreaking, Part I

**Told'ya I'd be back! Enjoy!**

…...

Seeing everything with Mulletfingers made me want to see if I could get another look at the owls. So the day after, after getting my lunch from the grocery store by the docks, I rode out on my bike to the construction site. I was wearing jean Capri shorts and my dark green tank top, no shoes.

When I got there, I saw the weird dude from the last time going into his trailer. Then I focused on the burrows in front of me.

"Hey, Cali girl." I spun around, fists at the ready, to see (who else?) Dana. He cracked his neck. He looked as threatening as a guy could to a girl. Without my permission, my body broke into a cold sweat. I tried to make a break for it, only to be slammed back into the chain link fence I had been peering through. "You can't save yourself this time." he gloated. I was pissed now. He was going to find out how lightly he had gotten off with a knee to the groin (and a couple kicks, but that was beside the point.). This time, I would have to show him how smart I am, to. "You're gonna be sorry you ever messed with me!" he grunted, swinging his fist wildly. I dodged it easily, and took off through the open gate onto the site.

"Right behind you Cali girl!" he shouted. I sprinted, dodging the rat traps on the ground easily. Dana fell for it hook, line, and sinker. As I dashed off into the woods, I could here his shouts of agony. Perfect. I had noticed the cop in the dinky car by the 'Future Site of Mother Paula's' sign. Now he would get blamed for the stuff Mulletfingers had been doing on the site. Why? Because if Dana didn't have a rap sheet, I was an owl.

….

"Look, I know you expect me to do the right thing, and I'm doing the best I can." I said to my parents as they tucked me in. We had been talking about the things that had happened the past few weeks.

"We know, sweetie." Mama lifted the covers up, and I got in, the dogs piling in on top. "Love you, beautiful girl."

"G' night, Mama." She kissed my forehead, and they left. As my dad exited the room, I called out, "Hey, Daddy?"

"Yeah sweetheart?"

"How do lawyers catch bad guys?" He looked surprised.

"Well, we don't chase them down, or anything, like police. How you catch 'em is to find the lie in their paperwork. Papers leave records of what they said, and if the stories they tell in the paperwork conflict, we can catch them lying. Kinda boring. Not the drama you were looking for, huh?"

"I don't know. Maybe it is. Night, Daddy." I said cheerfully. He smiled, and left.

I sighed, and settled back, the dogs' heads on my stomach.

"'G'night sweetie'" Bea's voice, imitating my mom's, sounded out of no where. My eyes flew open. The dogs paid no attention. I sat up. "Don't freak out! It's me."

"Yeah, I can hear that." A laugh was my response. "Where are you?"

"Under here." She slid out from under my bed.

"What? How did you get in here? Why aren't the dogs barking?" I was most bothered by the last part. My dogs are very vocal. With everything. I swear, they talk, and a lot of the time, I know what they want.

She gave me an 'it's obvious' look. "Easy. Sliding door on the porch popped right off the track. They all do. And I was playing with the dogs all afternoon. They're very sweet." She swept herself off the floor as she said the last bit, and walked over to sit on the edge of my open window.

"How long have you been hiding here?" I asked, concerned.

"Oh, don't worry," she said teasingly, "I closed my eyes when you put on your very colorful jammies."I had gotten out of bed, and was standing in front of her. I looked down. I was wearing a pair of cotton, brown and green plaid boxers, and a camo-green tank top.

"Are you completely wacko, or are you in trouble?" She looked like she was going to cry.

"I'm sorry. It's just…," she looked down, and then looked back at me. "Things got kinda crazy back home. My dad and Lana, they got in this huge fight, and I mean huge." She was getting upset. I had at this point sat down next to her on the windowsill, and was now looking at her sympathetically. "She threw a clock radio at his head, so I beaned her with a mango." I gave a small chuckle. "She went totally berserk." She looked apologetically at me. "I didn't know where else to go. I was going to stay with Mullet, but he wasn't at the boat yard." At the mention of Mullet, my heart sped up, and I remembered how yesterday had ended. Shaking it off, I looked at Bea kindly.

"You can always stay with me, Bea. Anytime." And with that I leaned forward and gave her a bear hug.

"Really?" She pulled back and smiled at me. "Thanks, Sash."

"No prob. As long as my parents don't check back in, we won't get in trouble. You can take the bed, if you want." She grinned at me, happiness starting to creep back into her features.

"No way. I'm fine right here." She said as we moved back to the bed. I got in, and she pulled my quilt off the end, and I tossed her a pillow.

"All right; suit yourself." I slipped into my bed, careful not to jar the puppies, and snuggled down again, this time with my head at the foot of the bed, facing Beatrice.

We sat in silence for a second, before Bea spoke up. "Hey, Cali girl?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad that you moved here." I smiled at her.

"Me too, Bea. Me too."

"I'm just going to call you Sasha from now on, if that's all right with you."

"It's all good. You can call me Wolfgirl, if you want. Mullet does." I said, yawning. Deep in my sleepy brain, I cursed myself. Bea shot me an evil grin.

"Does he now?" I groaned.

"Yeah, he showed me the glades yesterday. He gave me that nickname when he found out how much I love wolves."

"And how did that trip end?" I hid my face, and whacked her with my pillow. "Ow!"

"Shut up," I mumbled. "Let's just try to get some sleep."

"Fine," she sighed, "But something happened, and sooner or later, I want to know what."

"Deal. Now sleepy time." And that was it.

…

The next day, we woke up early, and after writing my mom a note explaining I was hanging out with Bea before school, we walked over to the ship yard. Bea was just as worried as I was.

"It's not like him to disappear. He must be up to something." She informed me.

"Don't worry, Bee, we'll find him." True to my prediction, the seat of something fell in front of us at that moment. We each gave a short shriek, before glaring up at the tree from which it had dropped. Mullet dropped down in response, wearing a huge grin. He shot me a smile filled with the admiration sparkling in his eyes. I grinned in response, and looked away.

"You're a jerk!" Bea laughed. I looked at the seat.

"Where'd ya get that?" I asked, gesturing to it.

"It's a bulldozer seat." He said with pride.

"And, what're you doing with it?" Bea asked, beating me to the mark.

"You can't drive a bulldozer without a seat, Bea." He said it quietly, excitement in his eyes.

"Oh, no," I laughed. "Don't tell me you stole-,"

"C'mon!" He interrupted me, grinning, "You're gonna love this. Come on, I'll show you."

He led us onto the construction site, into some bushes, where we arrived just in time to see the foreman discover an arrow made of mouse traps pointing at the dozer.

"Not the seat! Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!"

"Let's go!" Mullet whispered, and he led us up in front of the dozer's blade. I was in the middle, Bea to my right and Mullet to my left.

"Aw, hell! What am I gonna tell Muckle now?"

"You can start by telling me why I shouldn't fire you." Came the unexpected reply. Mullet stiffened with surprise.

"Oh! Goodness gracious! Mr. Muckle! We wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr. Brannit," So _that's _what his name is! "I came a day early. I'm gonna be sticking a silver shovel into somethin' at that groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow. I want it to be free of you-know-whats." We held our breath. They were right next to us. We were pressed into the dozer blade like we might be able to sink into it if we tried hard enough.

"Gotcha." I heard a rustling from one of the burrows, and they held their breath. They must have seen an owl in the burrow next to us. We got ready to bolt.

"Oh, my." I heard Muckle say. "We're bulldozing today."

Bea, Mullet, and I all looked at each other and whispered "Today?" I felt Mullet take my hand. Gone was his previous grin.

"Today?" Mr. Brannit sounded as shocked as we were.

"This obviously wasn't something I could count on you to handle unsupervised."

"Yes, sir, but today is gonna be a little difficult."

"Speak!"

"Well, we had another incident, sir. And this time somebody took the seat off the bulldozer."

"What's the quickest you can get a new seat?"

"Well, I guess I could head over to construction supply in Fort Meyer."

"Go there, get it right now. I'll keep an eye on things here and make sure nothing else happens." They were walking away, fast. "Oh, and, Brannit, on your way back, pick up Ms. Nixon at the hotel. I want her in her Mother Paula's costume for a dress rehearsal at 3:00 sharp. And if you run into anyone, you keep your trap shut about all this, you got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, go."

He paused, and then blurted, "Mr. Muckle, I just want to say that I've been trying like the dickens down here-,"

"Get seat, get Mother Paula's, get going!"

"Yes, sir."

Mullet let go of my hand and whispered, "Let's go!"

"Okay, let's go," Bea and I whispered in response.

We were silent the whole way to the boat. When we got below deck, however, Mullet exploded.

"Today? I can't believe this! I can't believe this!" He paced wildly.

"We've got to do something."Bea said resolutely.

"Ahh, well, yeah, I'm gonna do something." I looked up from the table at him.

"Like what?"

"Well, first I'm gonna hotwire Muckle's precious Hummer. I'm gonna hook it up to that construction trailer-,"

"Wait a minute." I told him, starting to get worried.

"That's crazy!" Bea agreed.

"And I'll drive 'em both to the edge of the canal, put a brick on the gas pedal, and release the emergency brake."

"You can't do that!" I told him, getting really worried. He looked near frantic.

"It'll sink like a rock, pretty quick. And that'll give me time to come up with somethin' that'll really freak 'em out."

I made my stand. "No. No way."

"You'll slow them down, but you won't stop them." Bea added. "We've been through this!"

"That's crossing the line from vandalism to a felony. You'd end up in jail, and by then nobody would be willing to hear the truth." That got him. He deflated like a party balloon, and sat down across from me.

"But we're the only ones who care." I leaned forward, a plan forming n my brain.

"We're the only ones who know." I said forcefully. "We have to let the town know what he's up to and stop the construction once and for all."

Bea looked skeptical. "That's what we've been trying to do." She was interrupted by Mullet.

"The idiots around here won't give a damn. They're all too excited about having a stupid pancake house."

"Look," I told them, "I've got an idea. If it doesn't work, you," I said pointing to Mullet, "do what you have to do. But can we try it my way first?" Mullet looked at Bea, who gave him a shrug and a what-the-hell face.

"It's worth a shot." He looked back at me intensely.

"All right. What's your brilliant plan?" I felt relieved. I put my game face on, and spoke.

"Here's what we're gonna do."

…

**Next chapter is the ceremony! My story is coming to a close! Snifle. Oh, well. I'm contemplating writing a sequel, but if I do, the updates would be spaced out, 'cause it's a lot harder to write a something from scratch than to rewrite something. Let me know! Review and let me know, sequel or no sequel? Read & Review! **

,


	8. Chapter 8: The Groundbreaking, Part II

**Chapter 8! This is it, and then the epilogue. *Sniff* my baby's grown up so fast. Sorry for the lateness, I was at my uncle's birthday party in Oakland until 6:00 and didn't start writing until 8:30 yesterday, and I had my baby cousin's christening today, with the same thing happening. Hey, give me some feedback you guys! Like everyone here, I'm an aspiring writer, but I need feedback and advice to get better. Tell me what you think, and give me any editing suggestions you might have!**

**Enjoy!**

….

We went into action immediately. My plan's success required I me to skip school, something I had avoided doing up until this point, given my love of school. The plan was simple: get the word out about the opening _any way possible_. The thing Muckle was relying on was that no one would know, so we needed to do the opposite. I had Bea putting up posters all over town and calling the mayor's office about the change in dates. Garret was alerting the news media, and I was doing what I'm best at: research.

I looked up Burrowing Owls online, and discovered that, surprise, surprise; they're an endangered and protected species. I printed the laws regarding endangered species in Florida, and biked over to the county library to look up the permits and environmental reports on the construction site.

The guy in public records was suspicious. Apparently, in Florida it's unusual for a high school freshman to be interested in stuff like that. I came in just in time to see him nab a fly with a flyswatter. I walked up and smiled.

"Hi! Um, excuse me?" He looked up, annoyed. What is it with people and service here?

"What is it little lady? I'm busy." I bristled at the derogatory term.

"Yes, I can see that." I said with a hint of sarcasm. " Um, is this the right place to look up files on a construction site? Permits, that sort of stuff?" He got that condescending tone grown ups get when they think you're wasting their time.

"You see that sign? It says 'Public Records'."

"I'll take that as a yes. I'm doing a school project on fast food chains, and the impact they have on the environment."

"What is it you want?" He sounded less annoyed.

"Could I please have the records on the Mother Paula's construction site, please?"

"East Oriole Avenue?"

"The very same." He smiled, despite the rocky start to the conversation, and moved off. "Thank you!" Most library folk love assisting me when I ask them for help with research. They get bored out of their minds most days, because the tragedy is that most kids don't bother to read, and when I ask for help, they jump at the chance to encourage me.

He came back, smiling, with a huge stack of documents. Oh, no. He put them down in front of me, and said, "Here you are! Plans, permits, and environmental reports on the Mother Paula's construction site. We close in half an hour, so be sure to get what you need fast. I'll be at the desk if you need any more help." I thanked him, smiling, and flipped through the papers. After a few minutes, I found the one I had been searching for. I pulled the Environmental Impact Study out of the pile, and flipped through it. When I got to where the seventh page should have been, there was evidence of a page having been ripped out. A picture formed in my mind of the fraud that had transpired to keep the owls a secret. I picked up the pile, and walked over to the desk. The man smiled and looked up.

"I've got what I need, thank you. Um, do you know if there's another copy of this report?" I asked sweetly, passing him the study. He frowned thoughtfully, and looked it over.

"Yeah, the foreman's supposed to have one at the job site."

"Great, thanks for all your help!" I turned around to see the police officer who'd dropped me off peering through the window, mouthing 'Sasha?' My heart near about stopped, and not in the nice way that happens whenever I see Mullet. It stopped from the sudden rush of adrenaline and fear that filled my veins. He turned and started for the door. I shot off and hid behind a pillar, just as he walked through. He seemed like a nice guy, but right now the police were not Mullet, Bea, and my friends.

I heard him come in through the front door, and I shut my eyes briefly, trying to staunch my panic. I couldn't get caught skipping school. Not today. I heard him rush up to the public records and ask the nice guy, "Say, um, excuse me, where'd that girl go?"

"I don't know, she was just here. Is she in trouble, officer?" He sounded genuinely concerned. I smiled, grateful.

"It's police business. What was she doing here?" I didn't understand why he was so interested.

"She was looking at the files on the new pancake house. Said she was doing a something for school on the impact fast food has on the environment." Halfway through his response, I started creeping toward the second door. If he connected me to Mullet's efforts, we were all screwed. And, I had to get to school for biology.

I was riding off on my bike, when I heard a shout. Damn it! He'd spotted me leaving. I peddled faster, praying I would beat him to the school in time for me to say what I needed too.

…

I burst into the biology classroom in the middle of one of Mr. Ryan's lectures. He turned to me, a disappointed expression on his face. I felt bad for disappointing him. He was my favorite teacher.

"Sasha, you're late. Take a seat."

"I'm sorry." I looked at the class, a mix of indifferent or hostile faces that I was not yet familiar with. I prayed that my plan would work. I turned back to my teacher. "Mr. Ryan, I know this is weird, but could I please say something to the class really quick? It's very important." He looked both incredulous and surprised, but he nodded. I faced the room.

"I know we don't know each other well yet," I began, "but I need all of you guys' help." I started pacing slowly, still facing the room. "When I heard there was a pancake house being built here, I thought, awesome! I mean, who doesn't love pancakes?" everyone nodded, and I continued, my courage rising. "But when I went over there with a friend, I saw something that totally changed my mind." I heard a car door slam, and I looked out the window to see the officer walking towards the classroom. I faced the class again, feeling the time pressure. Everyone was whispering. "Just—I—everyone, come out to the lot today, right after school." I ran to the exit, frantic. RUN! The primitive part of my brain was shrieking.

I ran into Bea as I was making my escape, and I whispered "Meet me at the marina in fifteen minutes. The hidden docking spot." And with that, shot down the stairs to my bike. I heard the officer shouting after me.

"Hey! Wait up! Stop!" Yeah, right I snorted to myself. I'm not stupid. "Freeze! Sasha! Sasha Foster!" I got on my bike, and shot away. I could hear him cursing behind me. I smiled. This was going to be terrifying, but fun.

…

After a long and merry chase, involving one hilarious incident involving a narrow, dirt road lined with trees and a sudden u-turn from me, I got to the marina. I hopped off my bike and ran to the end of the pier I had discussed with Bea. I feigned exhaustion, and slowed so that the officer (what was his name…Delinko! That's it! Why couldn't I remember that?) could catch up.

"You got no where else to go, Sasha!" Well, I thought, he's going to find out how wrong he is on that one pretty soon. "Sasha! Sasha, stop! Hey, Sasha, stop!" Finally, about fifteen feet from the edge of the dock, I turned and started backing away from him.

"If you give me a second, I can explain everything, if you just give me one second. I-," I turned to gage the distance between me and the edge.

"That was option 'A', Sasha. OK, but then you fled the scene and you resisted an officer." I was five feet away now. I prepared myself. "Alright? I know you're involved in this somehow." I turned and climbed on top of the wall. I looked at Bea, who gave me the thumbs up. "I got no other choice; I've got to take you in. Okay?" I looked at him with a sad smile. He looked a little rattled at the sight. I must've looked like some sort of goddess, with my hair undone, blowing in the wind, my green and brown clothing flapping, and with the sun lighting me from behind.

"I'm sorry, Officer Delinko. I know this looks bad, but there is something I have to do." And with that, I jumped into the boat with Bea, and we drove out into the water. I heard him shout my name, but Bea and I just waved, before laughing.

...

As we pulled up to the dock near the site, Mullet asked with dread, "How'd it go?"

Bea answered, very annoyed with me, "You're never going to believe this."

"Oh, Bea, it be worse!" I said to her, before answering him over her protest of "How?" "We ran into a little trouble with our beloved boys in khaki. The police are after me, and we've nearly run out of time." We were marching side by side towards the trailer. Mullet snorted.

"If you think that's a little trouble, then you'll really get a kick out of this." I groaned.

"Do I really want to know?" We jogged up to the trailer. Mullet whipped the door open, and we followed him in.

"What are we doing here?" Bea asked in a dangerous voice. Oh, no.

"Mullet," I said warily, "What's going on?" He stood in front of the door to the closet, a guarded look on his face. He opened the door, to reveal a corporate guy tied to the office chair, and duct tape over his mouth. I blinked closed my eyes, turned away, and then looked again. He was still there. I moaned. He closed the door, and I started in on him. "Oh. My. GOD, Mullet! You can't _kidnap_ someone!"

"It just happened!" He proclaimed, wide-eyed.

"How? How did it 'just happen'?" I asked, starting to feel more than a little hysterical.

"He was trying to kill the owls! What was I supposed to do?" He asked passionately.

I groaned again. "We got to get him out of here, NOW, before people start…" I looked out the window, and groaned a third time. "…coming." Bea, who had been standing in a state of disbelief until now, spoke up.

"Too late." I growled at her, and started pacing.

Bea spotted the mayor coming towards us, and burst out of the cabin. Bless that girl, she has a talent for thinking on her feet I do not possess. I started looking through the documents on the desk for the foreman's copy of the report.

"What're you doing?" Mullet asked, confused.

"I'm looking for the other copy of the environmental report. I found it in one of the drawers, and flipped to the page that had been missing. "Eureka! Page 7!"

"There is a cop walking this way." Mullet reported, starting to freak. "Let's go!" We sprinted into the closet holding Muckle, and closed the door. Mullet listened, while I taped the page to the back of Muckle's chair. Mullet motioned to me, and we slipped out the second door to the outside.

"What're we going to do?" Mullet asked franticly. We were speed walking toward the platform where the Mayor was speaking.

"We stick to the plan." I told him, trying to calm him. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You gotta let these people know what's going on-," H e interrupted me.

"Not me, I can't be seen. " We stopped, my face only a foot away from his. "Only you can do this, Wolfgirl. You have to tell them." He said it tenderly.

"Ok." I breathed. He quickly pulled me forward and pressed his lips to mine. It felt like electricity had been put on my lips. The kiss lasted only for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. We broke apart, and he grinned.

"Go get 'em." I smiled, pecked his lips again, and walked to the stage feeling like I could wrestle a thousand tigers. I caught sight of Bea, who had had a pleased, surprised smirk on her face. She mouthed, 'WOAH! Guess I know what happened on the trip, huh?' and wiggled her eyebrows. I blushed and mouthed back 'Follow my lead!' She nodded, smile lingering.

I walked up to the stage as the mayor said, "This Mother Paula's is going to be a shining example of my six-point economic development plan, bringing over twelve new jobs to Coconut Cove." I snorted softly. I got onstage, and the mayor asked, a little hostilely, I might add, "Who are you? Where's Muckle?"

"He's networking," I blurted. "He asked me to make an announcement." I decided I needed my brain to regain control my mouth while I was still ahead. "Um, please take a seat, Mr. Mayor." He looked skeptical. "It's okay. " I said to him as he moved away. I now stood at the podeum, with no idea of what to say. I looked at Mullet, who was standing at the back. He smiled and mouthed 'Just talk!' Heartened, I started.

"Who here loves pancakes?" Everyone raised their hands. "Yeah, I do too. I love pancakes. And a pancake house would be great in Coconut Cove." I took a deep breath. "But not here. Not in this lot, because somebody was here first, and they still are. They're baby owls. No," I said, as everyone shouted, scanning the trees, "not in the trees. They live in the burrows that are all around us. If a Mother Paula's is built here, they'll all be buried alive in their burrows, while their parents try to protect them. Think about that while you chow down on your key lime pie pancakes." I heard an engine start up, and looked up at the dozer moving in behind the crowd.

"Oh, no," I whispered in horror.

"Hello Coconut Cove!" Chuck Muckle yelled gleefully, holding his hands in the shape of peace signs (ironic, isn't it?). "Welcome to Pancake House number one hundred!" When he was about ten feet from the burrows, a certain bare-footed boy stepped out, standing between the burrows and the dozer. "Get out of the way, kid!" Muckle yelled angrily.

"If you want to bury those owls, you gotta bury me too!" He yelled back, eyes glinting protectively.

"Me, too." I said loudly, stepping into place next to him.

Bea ran up, and stepped in on the other side. "That makes three of us."

"We will not let you kill these owls," I yelled, taking Mullet's hand.

Muckle stood up, a big, fake, sincere look plastered on his face. "Ladies and gentlemen, these kids are a little misguided. They have no proof of any owls." I gripped Mullet's hand tighter, feeling fury etch itself into every line of my face and blaze in my eyes. "You folks see any owls? '

Mullet couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Of course we don't! Why would they come out of their holes while everybody's here? All we do is make noise! Cars, trucks, bulldozers! We sound like danger to them!" I got an idea.

"Yeah!" I turned to the crowd. "Maybe if we just stay quiet, they'll come out." Muckle revved the bulldozer. I released Mullet's hand and rounded on him. "Or maybe you're afraid we'll see them?" He glared back, until suddenly the engine turned off. I looked at the source, and saw Officer Delinko standing next to him.

"Alright, Sasha. Go ahead." I turned to the crowd.

"Let's try it. Let's stay really quiet for two minutes. Just 120 seconds, okay?"

"This is absurd!" Muckle sputtered. I gave him a short glare, then turned back to the crowd.

"Okay?" Everyone gave noises of agreement "Alright. And….Go." Everyone hushed up, and started to look at the burrows for signs of life. Time seemed to slow down. Gradually, all the sounds that the noise the cars and people had been covering up returned. I could hear the wind through the trees, the birds calling, and the waves of the river hitting the banks. I was shaking with nerves. I looked at Mullet desperately. He appeared calmer, the silence soothing him in the same way it was for me. His apparent calm soothed me. I have always found crowds nerve racking, and it hadn't contributed positively to my nerves when I spoke to the people.

As the end to the two minutes approached, I got more and more desperate. Muckle was looking smug, and this was our last shot. Just when I was about to lose hope, Mullet grinned at something behind me.

"Sasha!" He whispered happily, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Look!" I turned around, and saw a tiny owl sticking its head out of the burrow. I smiled and laughed with relief, clasping my hands over my mouth. The journalists stated taking photos of the living proof of Muckle's lies. More and more started to pop out, until there were five adults and one baby looking at the people.

Officer Delinko started to arrest Muckle, handcuffing him while saying, "You're under arrest for violating state permits, operating a bulldozer without a license, and, uh, a bunch of other stuff." I was fairly sure that wasn't the protocol for arresting someone, but I wasn't about to correct him.

The people started to clap, sending the owls scurrying back into their burrows, I turned and caught Mullet in a bear hug. "We did it." I whispered into his ear. I felt him smile against my neck.

"We did it." I let him go, and we held each other, grinning softly.

Then Bea, being the moment ruiner she is, cleared her throat loudly, grinning as she did so. We jumped away from each other like we had been electrocuted. Mullet scratched the back of his neck, and I started to chew my hands (Nervous habit.). But of course she couldn't leave it at that. She smirked at Mullet, before saying with all sisterly intent to completely humiliate, "So, baby bro, why didn't you tell me you had the hots for my best friend?" Mullet turned red and started stammering, obviously trying to tell her off, but failing in his embarrassment. I started to laugh at the sight, but attempted (and failed) to cover it with a cough.

There was a commotion on the stage, and mercifully for poor Mullet, we switched our attention to the Mother Paula actress, who was running up the stage towards the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen of Coconut cove!" She arrived on stage, and shoved the mayor, who looked almost as flustered as Mullet was, out of the way. "Ladies and gentlemen. Excuse me, Mr. Mayor. Ahem. I would just like to say that I, Mother Paula, am simply shocked by what has gone on here today. And you, young man," she added, pointing at Muckle, who was turning redder by the minute, "are no longer an employee of Mother Paula's. You're fired!" Her words were met by cheering and clapping. Muckle looked like his head was going to explode.

"You can't do that! She's crazy! _I_ do the firing around here! She's only an actress!" His words were met with jeering and boo's. She looked at him with a smirk, before turning to the mayor.

"And, Mr. Mayor, I would like to donate this land to your town as an owl sanctuary!" She said it smugly, looking at Muckle the whole time, before flouncing off stage. Apparently, she had been waiting a while to get back at Muckle for something.

Bea came up next to me, and rested her elbow on my shoulder whilst asking, "Can she really do that?

I was clapping with everyone else. I inclined my head towards her. "Probably not, but she just did, and on live TV too." The mayor moved her out of the way, having recovered his composure.

"Mother Paula, that's a grand idea. Folks, doesn't that sound like a grand idea?" Everyone cheered, and he continued. "And let me assure you, my office is going to launch a full investigation into how the presence of these fine little creatures was overlooked." Everyone cheered again, and Officer Delinko moved over towards me.

"Guess I owe you an apology, Sasha." He said smiling. He offered his hand, and I shook it.

"No problem, officer. I know you're a good guy, and that you were just trying to do your job." He looked touched, and I smiled.

"Thanks. Oh," he added, lifting the environmental report, "and thanks for the you-know-what. It'll come in handy at the trial."

"No problem. I couldn't have done any of this without Beatrice or…" I said, turning toward Bea. Where Mullet had been standing, there was only a little flattened grass. "-Mulletfingers." I looked around, knowing I wouldn't see him, but hoping to catch a glimpse.

Mr. Ryan and my parents, whom I was very surprised to see, to say the least, came over to congratulate me. They hadn't seen my kiss with Mullet, thank gods, but the amused look Mr. Ryan shot me told me he had. The thought made me flush with embarrassment, which I promptly blamed on excitement. It turned out my parents had come just in time to hear my speech. To my amazement, they weren't angry I'd skipped school. My mom told me, "This was by far more important. We've decided to tell the school you were sick, and Mr. Ryan said he would go along with it."

I stood and endured all the questioning of the journalists and the congratulations, but in my mind, I was back in Mullet's arms, reliving the feeling of his lips against mine, and hardly able to wait until I could see him again.

….….

**There it is! Sniffle. Almost done. I'm going to be out of commission all of tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to start and publish the next chapter for a couple days. Epilogue next! Give me some ideas for the sequel, which I've decided to attempt. Plot lines, new characters, etc.! I've also been thinking about doing another version of this story, only Mullet's POV. Should I? Should I not? Read, Review, and tell me! Oh and I've forgotten to do this for the other chapters, I think: All characters, except for Sasha (AKA Wolfgirl), and general plot and lines copyright Carl Hiaasen, and/or the company that did the movie of HOOT, whose name escapes me at the moment. **


End file.
